"And Then We Summarise in English for the Others": The Lived Experience of the Multilingual Workplace

Autor/inn/en	Angouri, Jo; Miglbauer, Marlene
Titel	"And Then We Summarise in English for the Others": The Lived Experience of the Multilingual Workplace
Quelle	In: Multilingua: Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication, 33 (2014) 1-2, S.147-172 (26 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0167-8507
Schlagwörter	Work Environment; Multilingualism; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Foreign Countries; Corporations; Business Communication; Language Usage; Employee Attitudes; Language Role; Profiles; Interviews; Administrators; Neoliberalism; Intercultural Communication; Social Capital; Qualitative Research; Ethnography; Croatia; Greece; Italy; Serbia; Sweden; United Kingdom + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Arbeitsmilieu; Mehrsprachigkeit; Multilingualismus; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Ausland; Unternehmen; Unternehmenskommunikation; Sprachgebrauch; Arbeitnehmerinteresse; Charakterisierung; Profilanalyse; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Neo-liberalism; Neoliberalismus; Interkulturelle Kommunikation; Sozialkapital; Qualitative Forschung; Ethnografie; Kroatien; Griechenland; Italien; Serbien; Schweden; Großbritannien
Abstract	In multinational corporate companies, multilingualism is often a daily reality for employees and the negotiation of language practices for work and social purposes, a routine. Despite the role of English as a lingua franca, the linguistic ecology of modern workplaces is dynamic, rich and diverse. While English is often used for communication between a company's headquarters and its subsidiaries, language choice is dynamically negotiated between the interactants in informal meetings and everyday interactions in the workplace. Against this backdrop, the article discusses the lived experience of the multinational workplace. We draw on interview data with 40 employees in senior and junior management posts in 12 companies situated in Croatia, Greece, Italy, Serbia, Sweden and the UK where English is the official corporate language. Special attention is paid to the employees' perceptions of the role of languages in their daily work life. We focus here on three discourses that have emerged from the analysis of our data: multilingualism and the use of English, multilingualism and cosmpolitanism, and challenges and expectations of multilingualism. Our findings show that the employees draw on a range of linguistic resources in order to manage their work-related interactions, and dominant ideologies in relation to language use come to the fore. We close the article by focusing on the profile of the 'global' employee and the impact of the 'modern' workplace on the working realities of the participants. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10